


I’ll Protect You ➢ Cedric Diggory x Reader

by kindredmoon



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:34:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22614172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kindredmoon/pseuds/kindredmoon
Summary: Cedric Diggory and Y/N were best friends. Now that didn’t mean that they both didn’t want to be more than that. But being a teenager isn’t always easy. They’re both awkward and anxious and care way too much about each other to risk ruining their lifelong friendship. But what happens when Y/N finds herself suffering from terrible nightmares and Cedric is the only one that can help.
Relationships: Cedric Diggory & Reader, Cedric Diggory/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 147





	I’ll Protect You ➢ Cedric Diggory x Reader

The morning of the 1st of September was a crisp one. The cold air blew wildly throughout the hidden meadow fields, leaves swept up in the gentle breeze. The trees whispered soft melodies in off key tones as the wind brushed past their dense trunks, the remaining foliage clinging onto withered, broken branches. Y/N trudged through the grassy land, tugging her unusually large suitcase behind her. Her parents mindless chatter softly carried by the wind. 

The morning seemed brighter, Y/N thought, maybe it was because she was finally going back to school, back to Hogwarts, or perhaps it was the prospect that she could finally see her friends more than just a couple times a week. Merlin, how she missed them, some more than others. Some obviously meaning Cedric, it didn't matter that she had only seen him just the day before, she still missed him.

Y/N stopped at the bottom of a great, grassy hill, the peak of which seemed to flatten out just below the surrounding treetops. In the distance, standing tall atop the hill, she could see two faint silhouettes, clouded by the morning sun that beat heavily against their backs. She waved up at them.

“Oi, Y/L/N, running a bit late, are we?” One of the figures bellowed down at the girl. Y/N grinned in return, shaking her head slightly at her best friend's antics.

“Oh, fight me, Diggory.” She called back.

Cedric beamed at the girl as he made his way down to her, a spring in his step. He pulled her into a warm, friendly embrace when he reached her. His arms encircling her waist, her hands linked behind his neck. 

“I've missed you, Y/N.” He said, as he reluctantly pulled away from the girl.

“You literally saw me just yesterday, Ced.” She replied with a chuckle, her hand grasped for the handle of her trunk.

“A day is a long time to go without seeing your pretty face.”

Y/N tucked a stray curl behind her ear, a light blush swept across her face. “You're an idiot.” She beamed and a delicate chuckle danced off her lips. It was a terrible insult, they both knew it, and yet it worked somehow.

“Here, let me carry your trunk. A gorgeous lady like yourself, shouldn't have to haul her own luggage.” His fingers gently brushed over hers as he took the handle out of her grasp. He grinned at her, the tips of his ears turning pink as he started up the mountainside without her.

“Wow, what a gentleman.” She retorted with a roll of her eyes as she followed, trying to keep up with Cedric.

___

Platform nine and three quarters was a peculiar place, in any circumstance. It always felt unnatural to have to run through the wall that bordered the station. Y/N had always wondered about what exactly the muggles must have thought about seeing wizards run directly at a wall and then seemingly disappear instantaneously. Did the muggles even notice? How could they have not noticed? There were hundreds of people - wizards, typically dressed in unusual attire, running into a wall, most likely screaming out of either fear or excitement. Maybe there was a charm, or a spell that made the muggles oblivious to the presence of wizards? Or maybe muggles really were just as daft as most purebloods said they were.

Whatever the case, Y/N ran steadfast at the wall between platform nine and platform ten of Kings Cross Station, wind whipping past her face, eyes closed, hand holding Cedric's and a scream resting heavily on her lips. She was sure that one little muggle boy had seen her, but she decided that she'd file that notion for another day. One where she had plenty of time to spiral into an endless despair about the exact mechanics of all things wizardry. That rabbit hole was far too big for just one train ride.

Right now, she was perfectly content with Cedric's hand in hers, the adrenaline that coursed through her body and the Hogwarts Express Train in front of her, waiting to be boarded. 

Cedric squeezed her hand one last time before his fingers gingerly slipped out of hers. “Don’t forget about the prefects meeting.” He said with a kind smile. “I’ll save you a seat.” He winked as he backed away to where his parents were waiting to say their goodbyes.

“Thanks Ced.” Y/N nodded and she too turned to face her teary eyed parents. 

Her mother instantly pulled her into a bone crushing hug. One that Y/N returned enthusiastically. “I’ll write you letters everyday. I promise.” Y/N remarked as she hugged her mother just a bit tighter.

“We love you, dear.” Her mother whispered in her ear as she pulled away, instead holding Y/N at an arms distance. Her mother checked her over one last time, as if this moment might be the last time she ever saw her daughter, a sad smile passed her lips.

“I love you too.” Y/N readily replied, her words slipping out easily as she met the saddened eyes of her Mother first before they settled on her Father. “I better get going now. I don't want to be late.”

Her parents chuckled at the thought of her actually being early to anything. Y/N was a great many things, however, punctual was never one of them.

Her Father drew her in for one quick last embracing hug. “See you at Christmas!” He grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“We’ll miss you!” Her mother called out as the girl retreated into the nearest door of the Hogwarts Express.

___

Cedric Diggory sat alone in the dim and vacant prefect's carriage of the train, his head leaning against the stained wood of the ornate chair. His eyes closed and hands clasped together firmly resting on top of the mahogany table. Hearing the sound of the door closing he opened an eye and peered curiously at the girl in front of him.

“You’re early?” he questioned, a slight grin tugged at the corners of his lips as he settled back into the chair, his eyes closed once again.

Cedric could practically hear the grin in Y/N's voice. “I hope I'm not interrupting.” She replied slyly.

"Not at all." He simply shook his head in response. 

She continued as she flicked on the lights, “I figured that I would at least try and make up for the times I’ve been late. Merlin knows I’ve been late a lot.”

Cedric laughed, very hoarse and somewhat sarcastically, the air blowing out of his nose in short breathy huffs. “And by a lot,” He straightened in his chair. His hand quickly ran through his hair as he met her gaze once more. “I’m assuming that you mean every other meeting we’ve ever had?”

Y/N giggled at the statement, raising a playful eyebrow in return, wide grin on her lips as she pointed to the badge pinned to her robe. “Well the badge does say ‘Prefect’ not ‘Perfect’, Ceddie.”

"You're an idiot." Cedric chuckled once more. The sound filling the empty space. “Since you’re early, I guess there was no point in me saving you a seat then?”

“I guess not, but I still appreciate the thought.” Y/N smiled cheekily at him as she took the seat beside his, watching as the carriage began to fill with other prefects.

___

The first day of school was always a hectic one. With being away from the castle for a while it was hard to adjust once again to the moving staircases and to all the new classes and new schedules. Those lucky few who learnt and adapted faster than the rest were always envied by the masses of people who were not so lucky. Today, unlike any other first day the girl had endured, Y/N, for some reason was one of the lucky ones. She wasn't sure why she was granted such a power, but she sure as hell wasn't about to question it. She merely shrugged and figured that maybe, somewhere and somehow, God was rewarding her for having to put up with such an idiotic best friend, as Cedric Diggory. Now, see, that made sense.

Y/N bounded down the stairs, stepping over two at a time, only stopping briefly to swerve around other students that lingered in her path, muttering a few greetings as she did so. The entrance to the Great Hall was grand and old, withered by time and more worn in places than others due to centuries of use. Y/N stopped below the hollowed door frame, her gaze gliding over the echoing hall. It was emptier than she thought it would be, with only a few dozen students seated at the sectioned tables. Chatter filled the empty space, bouncing freely off the hallowed walls. The bewitched ceiling showing nothing but blue skies and enchanted clouds scattered amongst the unlit floating candles. Shifting her satchel higher on her shoulder she let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding, her lips curling up into a smile.

Helga, it was good to be back.

Making her way over to the Hufflepuff table, she snagged a muffin and an apple and quickly shoved them into her bag before spotting the carelessly tousled locks of Cedric's. She made her way over to greet the boy.

"Cedric!" She greeted. Her voice was still a little sleepy. Her tired eyes crinkled at the corners. A small smile on her lips.

“Early two days in a row? Who are you and what have you done with Y/N?” Cedric smiled his signature, pretty boy, lopsided smile up at the girl and Y/N figured that maybe being early to things things wasn't so bad. 

Tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, Y/N hid her smile with a shy tilt of her head away from the boy. “Good morning to you too, Ceddie.”.

“In all my years of knowing you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you show up to a single thing early.”

“Oh, bite me, Diggory.” She joked but she couldn't quite hide the blazing redness of her cheeks.

“Who’s biting who? And can I join?” Said a voice playfully. The pair glanced over to find Davis sauntering towards them. Y/N resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the boy.

“Davis, you made it in one piece. I was sure that you would have fallen off one of those blasted staircases by now.” Y/N quipped back with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh. Just as feisty as always, eh, Y/N? You know, if you'd like I could help you take care of that temper. If you know what I mean.”

Y/N scoffed, sarcastically. “Just as classy as always I see.”

“Only for you, sweetheart.” He replied slyly, snaking an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to his chest. “But seriously, back to the previous conversation. Who are we biting? Because I hope it's you, buttercup. I'd love to sink my teeth into you.” He smirked, predator like before he ran his tongue over his lips.

“And that would be my cue to leave.” She shrugged off Davis' arm, taking a step away as she did so. She never did like people in her personal space, especially when people had as bad taste in cologne as Davis did.“I'll see you later, Ced.” She said with a gentle wave of her hand and a kind smile.

Cedric smiled, the type of smile that made the girls knees go weak and butterflies swell in stomachs as he watched her start off to her other friends. "Yeah, see you later, Y/N.”

“Oh shit, Diggory, you got it bad.” Davis smirked as he took a seat across from the boy and began to fill his plate with food.

“I don't know what you're talking about." Cedric tried to keep his voice steady, he really did but he couldn't help when it rose an octave.

“You like her.” Davis said plainly.

Cedric laughed, sarcastically and almost incredulously. “Pfft… No. I don't.” He blinked and then backpedalled when he saw Davis' disbelieving gaze. An embarrassed flush spread like wildfire across his cheekbones. “Is it really that obvious?” He settled on instead.

"Mate, for a smart guy, you're pretty daft, you know that?" Davis smiled, stupidly and knowingly and took a bite of his toast, ducking swiftly when Cedric threw an apple slice at his head in retaliation.

___

The common room was quiet when Y/N padded down the cold, concrete stairs. The icy floor, chilly against her bare feet. Checking that the cover was clear, she gracefully glided across to one of the loveseats and plopped down on the soft cushion. The dying fire gently illuminated her surroundings, washing over the empty space with a vibrant orange glow that cast fuzzy shadows onto each wall of the common room. Y/N sighed as she tugged on the hem of her silky shirt, her shorts riding up as she tucked her legs beneath her. She stared blankly at the fire, the colours swirling around, mixing together in her half asleep, bleary vision. The remaining flames licking up the sides of the ashen log and greeting each other in the middle.

“Y/N?” A voice questioned. It was soft, curious, with sleepy concern nipping at the edges. The girl turned around at the call of her name, only to see a tired looking Cedric lingering at the bottom of the stairs. His pyjama bottoms hung dangerously low on his hips, his shirt draped loosely over his chest. Y/N smiled slightly when she noticed the cotton shirt was on inside out, as if he had hastily thrown it on in his half asleep daze. She wouldn't mention it, for now at least. 

“Hey, Ced.” She greeted sweetly in return. “What are you doing up so late?”

“I could ask you the same question, love.” His voice was low and gravelly and Y/N found herself swept up in the thickness of his tone. Cedric ran a hand through his hair, attempting to push the matted tresses out of his face, his shirt rising with the movement. Y/N couldn't help but let her eyes linger on the bare patch of skin that was exposed. He raised a tired eyebrow up at the girl.

“I couldn't sleep.” She said simply and she turned back to the fire to hide the blush that crept up on her face when he took slow, tentative steps towards her.

Cedric sat down beside her, his arm coming to rest on the back of the chair in a casual action. “By the looks of it, you haven't slept the past couple of nights either.” He took in her appearance. Her tired eyes, red rimmed with purple bags that hung heavily under them. She looked very sheepish and tired and almost out-of-place. “What's wrong?”

“It's nothing, Ced, really.” She replied with a casual wave of her hand, as if dismissing the boys concern. “You should head back to bed.”

“I'm not going to leave until you tell me, Y/N.”

“It's stupid.”

“I don't care.” He replied solemnly, with a shake of his head.

Y/N tugged at the hem of her shirt once more, embarrassed by the stupidity of her anxiety. She eyed Cedric warily. She was just being over-dramatic, she thought, he didn't need to be as concerned as he apparently was. She didn't know why she felt so ashamed to tell him. Surely everyone gets nightmares? Besides it's not like her terrible dreams were anything to hide, especially from Cedric. She remembers that they had multiple sleepovers as children, some were even because she had terrible nightmares and Cedric was the only one who could truly calm her down. 

Why did she feel so uncomfortable telling him now? Was it because they were older? Perhaps it was because she figured their relationship had changed, matured? - after all her feelings for Cedric certainly had. She didn't want him to see her as that little girl anymore and maybe telling him about her childish bad dreams would revert her back to exactly that, nothing more than his childish best friend.

She sighed heavily and Cedric shuffled towards her. His hand stroked her arm gently as if telling her that it was okay. His gaze was soft, caring, dare she even say, loving. As if he was saying that he was there for her, they'd get through it together. “I've been having really bad nightmares.”

Cedric's eyebrows furrowed together. “Like the ones you had when you were a kid?”

“I'm surprised you even remembered those.”

“How could I forget? When you stayed over at my house when your parents were working late, we would always sleep in the same bed.” Cedric shifted in his seat. “You would say that if we were together-”

“The nightmares couldn't get to me.” She finished leaning into the soft couch even more. “Because you would protect me from them.” Her eyes drifted over to the dying embers in the fireplace.

“Yeah.” He replied instantly, his gaze following hers.

Images flowed through Cedric's mind like paint through water. Dusty blankets and teary smiles and a young Y/N hugging him tightly as their parents tucked them into bed, his bed. For some reason he could still hear the sound of his own childlike voice as he whispered to the almost asleep girl next to him, “Don't worry. I'll protect you.”

“Sleep with me.” Cedric said suddenly, almost as if it were a perfectly normal proclamation to make between friends. And he caught her gaze once again, the last remaining light of the memory lingering in his irises.

Y/N gulped, eyes wide, her body stiffened. Her mouth opened and closed then opened again as she tried to comprehend what Cedric had said. “I'm sorry. What?”

“Sleep with me, in the innocent sense of the term.” He explained with a gentle roll of his eyes. How could he have not seen the solution earlier? How could she have not seen it? It was so obvious. “Like when we were kids. It worked back then, who's to say that it wouldn't work now?”

“I don't know, Ceddie. What if we get in trouble?”

“It's not like we're going to do anything other than sleep.” Cedric said matter of factly. He didn't mean to say it so firmly. He liked Y/N. Like, liked-liked Y/N. Some part of Cedric wondered if that was the correct term for it. He liked-liked her? Or did that sound too immature? It didn't matter. What did matter was that they were just friends and he was only suggesting this for Y/N’s benefit. 

Okay, yeah, they were friends, best friends at that, but that also didn't mean that Cedric didn't want her in his bed, because, come on, he was a teenage boy, after all and Y/N was a pretty girl and he would be mad to not think of her in that way. Her in his bed, wearing his shirt, covers pulled up to her hips with just the tops of her panties peeking out under the quilt. That thought alone was enough to make his pants just a bit tighter. Merlin, he really did like-like her. He seriously had to pull his mind out of the gutter, before things got out of hand.

“Not to mean that I wouldn't want anything to happen.” He rambled, his hands moving to wildly exaggerate his every word. “You're pretty, really pretty and-”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Cedric, stop.” She swiftly placed her hands on top of his, grasping them reassuringly. “I know what you mean.”

Cedric paused for a moment. The heat swelled in his chest, his hands felt incredibly warm within her tender embrace. “You do?”

“Yeah.” She smiled gently at him, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. “We're best friends. Of course I do.”

“Yeah. Right. Of course. Best friends.” The words left his mouth almost automatically. His eyes shifted down to their intertwined fingers. The corner of his lips turned up slightly and he squeezed her hand a little tighter in his. When she squeezed back, Cedric thought for a moment that maybe his feelings weren't so outrageous and unwelcomed. Maybe she felt the same way as him, or maybe she was, at the very least, kind enough to humor him for a few brief seconds. But before he could think any further - or fall for Y/N any further for that matter - she was already tearing her warm fingers away from his.

“If it's any consolation, I think you're pretty too.” Y/N's sweet smile turned cheeky, a rosy blush swept across her features.

Cedric rolled his eyes and he shoved the girl slightly with his now free arm. “Shut up.”

“Honestly,” Y/N started with a sigh. “At this point I'll try anything. I haven't slept for almost two days.” Y/N ran her tongue over her lips and Cedric cursed inwardly when he caught himself following the movement intently with his eyes. He really had to get it together if he wanted to make it through the night now. It was too late to back out.

“You sure look like you haven't slept in two days.” He quipped, before narrowly dodging out of the way of a pillow that Y/N had thrown at him. “Honestly, in all seriousness though, you have to admit that I come up with good plans. I always told you to listen to your elders, they have brilliant ideas.”

“How is it possible for someone to be so conceited?” She questioned. Cedric shrugged in reply. ”And you're only older than me by a couple of months.”

“That still means that I'm older.” Cedric heaved himself off the worn couch, stretching minutely as he did so. He held his hand out for Y/N to take, his head gesturing to the staircase that lead to the boys dormitories. “Come on, I'll show you to my dorm. We have a big day tomorrow and both of us need to get some sleep.”

Y/N hesitated momentarily, a brief passing of panic spreading across her features before she leveled her gaze on the boy in front of her. “You know older doesn't mean smarter, Ceddie.” She deadpanned as she took his hand in her grasp and trudged tiredly behind Cedric as he began to lead the way to his dorm.

“I am smarter.” He retorted. “I beat you at chess the last time, remember.”

“You won by default because you accidentally knocked the board over.” Y/N nudged him lightly with her shoulder as they began the climb up the short staircase. “If we were comparing anything else, say, maturity levels, for example, I'd wipe the floor with you, Diggory.”

Cedric found himself inwardly agreeing.

___

The morning sun was crisp and bright and glimmered beautifully against the warm yellow walls of the dorm room, making the room itself seem to glow with golden iridescence. Soft whispers filled the space, laughter echoed quietly behind it. 

Y/N awoke to a gentle jostle of the bed, the movement subdued, as if someone was being cautious. A tender heat snaked around her body and fanned across her back. Warmth pressed against her face and a steady, rhythmic thumping of a heartbeat beneath her ear.

“Shut up. You'll wake her.” Cedric scolded, his hand gripped another pillow from behind his head and aimed it at his friend.

“We wouldn’t want that now would we. We definitely wouldn’t want to wake your girlfriend, Diggory.”

Cedric threw the pillow, making sure it hit the other boy square in the face. “She’s not my girlfriend, you twat.”

“Whatever you say, Cedric.” Davis chuckled and he hurried to the door before he could get bombarded with another flying cushion. He swiftly closed the door with a gentle click.

“Dickheads.” She heard Cedric mumble under his breath and she struggled not to laugh at the boy's choice of profanity. 

Cedric smiled down at the girl who stirred quietly on his chest. She looked so peaceful, so tranquil and he fought the urge to pull her closer. Her lips - although hiding a small smile behind the guise of her pretending to be asleep - looked as kissable as ever and Cedric caught himself wondering how they tasted. She had not been this close to him in a long time, he had not held her this close in a long time, at least not this intimately anyway. He wondered if she’d let him hold her like this once he let slip that he knew she was awake. He chuckled shortly out of his nose at the notion, shocked at how truely love sick he sounded.

Y/N stirred again and Cedric wondered just how much of the conversation she had heard before he realised that she was awake. “You can open your eyes now, Y/N. They're gone.”

“How did you-”

“I've known you since we were two. Do you really think I don't know when you're faking being asleep?”

Y/N gazed up at him, her eyes shining in the early morning light, a small smile on her tender lips. Cedric's gaze dipped down to her mouth briefly before returning to her eyes. “You really know me, huh?”

“I think that as your best friend, it's my job to know stuff about you.”

Y/N tried not to flinch at the words ‘best friend'. She really did. But she couldn't help but slightly shift her arm that was draped across Cedric's stomach. It was an instinct, one that she couldn't help. Her mind screamed that ‘best friends' shouldn't be as close they were. They shouldn't embrace each other like they were, they shouldn't feel things for each other, like what she felt for Cedric. 

It was stupid. She was stupid. Falling for Cedric Diggory was such a stupid thing to do, she knew that but she still did. So, she pulled further back from his embrace because she couldn't be that close to him. She couldn't look into his eyes and pretend that she was happy with just being his friend. She couldn't just lay there, in his arms and act like her heart wasn't beating out of her chest, like the butterflies in her stomach didn't swarm whenever he spoke her name, like her feelings for him didn't exist.

She sat up, pulling herself even further away from the boy and she crossed her legs and tried her best not to look at Cedric. She couldn't look at Cedric, not when her heart was filled with such a great feeling of rejection. “Yeah. Right. Of course. Best friends.” She smiled sadly down at her hands and this time Cedric noticed that it didn't reach her eyes.

“Y/N?” He asked as he sat up and mirrored her position. His eyes bore into the side of her face with such intensity, such longing and she couldn't take it. She didn't want his pity. She didn't want his concern. She didn't want him to look at her that way, with such care. So she hid. She covered her face with her hair to escape his probing gaze and she tried her best not to cry.

“Yeah?” She answered, her voice teetering on the edge of despair.

“Why didn't you want to tell me about your nightmares?”

Somewhere in the back of his mind he could see her. Young her, child her. Pillow in hand, a blanket in the other. Watery eyes and calling his name. 

"Ceddie?" Her young self cried and his child self hated how she said his name with such sadness. He never wanted her to feel such a feeling as that. 

"I had another bad dream, Ceddie. Can I sleep with you?" She was so distraught and Cedric couldn't help but want to make everything better. He would always want to make everything better. 

"Yes." He had replied, short and simple, much like he always did. And he patted the spot next to his and gave the girl a warm smile, the same smile he still gives her, the same smile he would always give her, and he pulled the covers up over them both when she settled beside him. He held her as she cried and recounted her nightmare and he let his fingers linger in her tender embrace as she slowly drifted off to sleep in the safety of his arms.

"The nightmares can't get to you as long as you're by my side. I'll protect you, Y/N."

And he did, he always did. Because their friendship meant so much to him, she meant so much to him. Even at such a young age, he couldn't help but want to protect her, cherish her, love her. He loved her then and he still loves her now. 

He loves her.

Cedric pushed the memory aside.

“Honestly?” She mumbled through a forced sigh, the sound muffled by her hair. “I was scared that you'd think less of me.”

“I could never think less of you, Y/N.” He replied automatically, his eyes filling with a gleam sincerity and concern that was reserved only for her. 

Y/N looked up at him with such surprise, such fondness, such love. Tears welled in her eyes and a quiver rested heavily on her lip and Cedric wanted so desperately to hold her within his arms and not let her go. So that's what he did. He closed the gap between them and pulled the girl in closer with a gentle tug of her arm towards him and he held her close as tears spilled from her now closed eyelids. Tired and exhausted, she sobbed into his chest and he ran his fingers through her hair in a comforting fashion. Warm droplets hit his chest sporadically, each one causing his chest to tighten. She gripped him tighter in her arms, almost as if she was afraid that he'd suddenly disappear and he gently laid them both back onto the soft mattress and pulled the covers up to their waists once again. Her head now rested heavily on his chest once more, her soft breaths tickling his collar bone from behind the cover of her hair. Gingerly, he tucked her hair behind her ear. Her flushed face became redder under his heated touch. Cupping her cheek gently he directed her gaze back to his. 

“Look at me, Y/N." He said, his voice breathy and slow and she complied. Her teary eyes reddened and puffy but Cedric still thought she looked perfect. Flustered and practically falling apart on top of him, but still so perfect. And in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with the girl. "You… You're the most amazing girl I know.” 

She wouldn't ever change in his eyes. She'd always be Y/N, beautiful, caring Y/N, and he'd always be Cedric, bright smiled, kind Cedric, and they'd always be there for each other, no matter what. It was just who they were, who they would always be to each other.

Once again his eyes dropped to her lips. Perfect, parted petals that he so desperately wanted to kiss. When he met her gaze again, it was as if something shifted. The air seemed denser, almost. Time seemed irrelevant. His heart hammered harder in his chest. This, whatever this was, it was different. There, in his bed, post nightmare stricken, with the covers pulled up to their waists, legs thrown over each other, chest to chest, the only thing between them being their bated breath, this was different. It was new and fragile. And God, she seemed so fragile in his arms. Just wide eyed and staring at him, waiting for him to make the first move.

He leaned in slightly, she followed. Hot breath fanned across her face. Cedric licked his lips. "Can I kiss you?" He asked. She nodded in reply, slow but decisively. Right after, Cedric closed the gap. 

Kissing Cedric Diggory was, for lack of better words, totally awesome. Euphoric, would have been better a fit but Y/N couldn't really think properly while Cedric's lips were on hers. The kiss was tentative, needy and new. It was awkward and foreign and the position they were in wasn't the best position to snog in but ultimately they wouldn't change a thing. Cedric was a good kisser, no doubt about that. His soft lips tasted like honey and Y/N craved to taste more of the sweetness. His teeth found her bottom lip and he gently bit down, tugging softly as he pulled away. 

Heavy breaths fell upon swollen lips. The pair smiled to themselves, blush creeping up their necks. "Woah." They both said simultaneously, followed by a chuckle.

Y/N gazed up at Cedric, all messy haired and early morning grogginess. Her best friend - or possibly more, who had the impossibly grey eyes and too kind, knowing smile that made him annoyingly and unfairly handsome, and she wasn't sure why, maybe it was because when he looked down at her she noticed the gleam of happiness in his eyes or the way his heart hammered a little faster in his chest, but she grinned.

“Ceddie?”

Cedric looked lovingly at her face, his hand buried deep within her hair, the ghost of a smile fluttering around the corners of his lips. He truly was never going to get tired of hearing her call him that. “Hmm?” He questioned.

“Thank you.”

“No problem, love.” He chuckled. “I honestly wish you had told me about your nightmares sooner. Especially if the solution was for you to get into bed with me.”

Y/N laughed, the sound escaping through her pursed lips and Cedric thought it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard. “You're an idiot.” She whispered as she cuddled closer.

Cedric just smiled.


End file.
